64. Unknown Creatures
I was doing the Juan De Fuca trail but I am not that experienced, I have only done a couple of multiple-day hikes, guided by a friend. The Juan De Fuca trail is fairly busy—you are far from out in the woods alone. Anyhow, we were partway in and I heard something pawing and digging at the side of my tent, so naturally, I ducked down for safety.
Being a wimp, I asked my trail partner to please check. He did not see anything and was totally unruffled, but I had trouble sleeping, worrying about the terrifying night tent-diggers. The next day we were drinking tea on the beach and found a mink running across the rocks. The annoying but cute little buggers had chewed through anything they could find, including our neighbor’s laminated maps.
Part of the creepy factor is really just feeling vulnerable to a lot of little unknowns.